Anyone writing, editing, or managing any type of communications for a living is feeling the crunch. There is less time to create and edit; more types and formats of content; more apps, software, and systems to learn. And we expect quality, accuracy, and consistency from ourselves because we take pride in our work. In this session, we’ll discuss how to address a multitude of modern dilemmas with a relatively old-school hack: a checklist.
Learn how using a comprehensive checklist created and updated for a specific communication task can help you differentiate workflows, systems, and activities; spell out style and formatting details, track your progress, document metrics, and give you a sense of completion and peace of mind.
About the Visiting Dojo Expert
Kelly Schrank has been in technical and medical communication for over 20 years. After stints as a medical editor, communications manager, and technical writer in pharmaceutical, cybersecurity, and many other industries, she has just started her own business Bookworm Editing Services, with a focus on formatting and editing formulary dossiers. She also enjoys editing proposals, slide decks, training materials, and many other types of documents. Kelly is currently president of the Rochester chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), after stints as the Program Manager and Co-chair for Spectrum. She is also active in the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) and the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS). Some of her favorite topics are the benefits of checklists, side gigs, and networking, which she has spoken about at national and regional conferences of STC and AMWA.
Watch the Video
Recorded: 14 Jan 2019.
View the slides
Download the slides [PDF]
References
These were mentioned by Kelly during the presentation:
- The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
- Listful Thinking: Using Lists to Be More Productive, Successful and Less Stressed by Paula Rizzo
- "Using Editing Checklists for More Efficient Editing" AMWA Journal. 2013:165-166. (subscription only)
Learn more
Productivity Hacks for Technical Communicators
Kit Brown-Hoekstra, Comgenesis
Building a style guide from the ground up
Cathy Jones, Jack Henry & Assoc.
Add Super Power to Your Communication with Super Structures
Pam Estes-Brewer, Mercer University
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Key Concepts:
basics, productivity, workflow and process
Filed under:
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